


Cactus Flower

by creatoriginsane



Series: Angels, Demons, and In-betweeners [1]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Angels vs. Demons, Canon-Typical Violence, Deal with a Devil, Identity Issues, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2018-09-21 17:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9560027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creatoriginsane/pseuds/creatoriginsane
Summary: “You're going to charm every person you meet. They're going to worship you like a god.”AU: If Iblis had a daughter born fourteen years before the Okumura siblings.





	1. Newborn

**Author's Note:**

> Writing practice. Most of this is self-indulgent, the rest is speculation on what the angels in the AnE universe are doing, if they exist.

Yukimachi Senryū is born to an actress at the prime of her life. Yukimachi Ayako, or ‘Kiki’ as she is commonly known, is a well-loved actress in the film and theater industry, and more so loved by a foreign magician named Ignacio.

“She’s going to be beautiful woman, our daughter.” He says as Ayako cradles the sleeping child. Surely, the girl will be taking after her mother.

“Of course.” Ayako laughs. “I’m her mother, after all.”

Ignacio laughs as she places their child in the crib. Ayako steps back after a few moments and rushes past him. He frowns as he watches her slip into the veranda. He approaches her as she fiddles with a fresh cigarette and a near-empty lighter.

“And for my next trick—” He smiles, producing a lit match between his fingers. Her eyes widen slightly before she plucks the burning match from his hand to light her cigarette before throwing the burnt match to the side. She turns away from him, steps close to the edge. He watches. She closes her eyes and breaths in tobacco and nicotine.

Wisps of smoke from her cigarette spin around him and he couldn’t find a better time to tell her:

“I’m the King of Fire.” He continues when she doesn’t respond, “Iblis.”

At that moment, his appearance changes. Ignacio’s brown hair gradually becomes a brighter shade of red as it grows until it reaches his shoulders in a bright sunset shade of red. His hollow cheeks become fuller, the wrinkles in his face disappear, the deep russet shade of his eyes transform into a youthful shade of bright green. This is not the man that had loved Ayako, but it is the devil who gave her a child when she could not.

“We’ve had this conversation before.” She murmurs, almost biting into her cigarette. “We’ve already had a child. A healthy, handsome child. The King of Time is her godfather, isn’t he?”

Iblis nods curtly. Samael’s spell had made giving birth a lot less painful.

“And you’ve sealed away whatever she inherited from you. She’ll be fine.” She dismisses.

“Ayako—”

“We had a deal, Ignacio.” She turns to him then, eyes threatening to spill tears. “You promised me one thing, and there it is.” She points her cigarette to the direction of the crib. “Thank you.”

Ayako smiles and Iblis thinks that if he had a human heart, it would break.

“You’ve struck a deal with a devil, Ayako.” Iblis smiles in spite himself. “You know the consequences.”

“She’s my only child. She’s going to be beautiful, charming, everyone will adore her. They’re going to worship her like a god.”

“Be careful, Ayako.” He replies and she smokes some more. “You might come to regret that.”

Lies. Ayako has been worshipped all her life. How could she regret that now?

Iblis looks at her face and asks under his breath, “Why couldn’t you have asked for eternal youth?”

Ayako smiles and then frowns, taking another huff from her cigarette.

Her silence saddens him. If he were honest, he would tell her that he’d love seeing her youthful, expressive face every singe day of his immortal existence, but then he’d also tell her that he couldn’t give her that. No one could, not even the King of Time himself.

“She’s going to be beautiful.” Ayako states before throwing her cigarette to the tile. “She’s my daughter and she’s going to be beautiful.”

“Yes.” Iblis agrees before producing a rectangular box from a burst of fire and smoke from his hand. “Here.”

She takes the box with both hands. “What’s this?”

“She’s going to need it, should my older brother come for her.”

Ayako knows part of what he’s talking about and nods before opening the box. Inside, there is a gold dagger with a jeweled hilt sheated in an intricate scabbard. It looks as if a treasure from some ancient kingdom. She grits her teeth before asking, “This is her heart?”

“Her fire.” Iblis responds. “It will protect her.”

Ayako wraps her arms around him and murmurs into his neck, “Her fire,” she repeats, “will it be the same as yours?”

“Of course.” He says so assuredly. “She is, after all, my only daughter.”

* * *

Later that night, Iblis visits Samael. He stumbles through the door and manages to limp all the way to his brother’s parlor. Samael is there, sitting comfortably on one of the outlandish chairs, drinking tea from an ornate cup.

“Brother!” Samael greets him.

“You have my thanks.” Iblis breathes out as he falls into a nearby seat. He peels away his clothes, revealing his burnt, wrinkled chest and his bandaged arms and legs. He looks at himself in pity. “Just look at me.”

“I am.” Samael replies. “You’re at least ageing better than the rest. Seems quite a shame that your body begins deteriorating now. She liked you.”

“Haa…” Iblis groans. “Just like fire, huh? Here one moment, gone the next?”

“You have a child.” Samael states.

“You said so yourself, Samael.” Iblis adjusts in his seat. “What if we had offspring? What if we had secured a way for us to stay within the world of Assiah while retaining our full power?”

“That was a long time ago.” He dismisses, drinking from his cup gingerly.

Iblis laughs loudly. “You just haven’t found the right person yet.”

Samel lowers the cup on the table beside him. “So you’re going to possess your own daughter?”

Iblis thinks for a short while. “I could try.”

Samael smirks. “How interesting. Should you accomplish such a feat…”

“Find a woman and try it yourself.”

Samael’s smirk widens. “If she has inherited your fire, then—”

The end of Samael’s coat is burned in an instant. He glances at it before returning to his younger brother. Iblis looks unapologetic.

“You will protect her, brother.” Iblis’ hand is set aflame. “I made a promise.”

“You and your little promises.” Samael mocks.

“Says the one who goes around and makes dreams come true.” Iblis rolls his eyes.

Samael smiles then, and Iblis does the same.

“We love these humans too much, don’t we?” Iblis muses.

“I will protect her, brother.” Samael replies after a beat. “She is my…only niece, after all.”

Iblis laughs at Samael’s difficulty in accepting the fact.

* * *

Nearing dawn, Iblis ventures out with a new body fresh from Asylum 13. It doesn’t suit him as much as his previous one, but at least he could spend a hundred more years in Assiah. His red shoulder-length hair was cropped short in a barber’s cut and in a cobalt color, his green eyes from before were now a dull shade of brown. He looks different, but he knows in time, his red hair will return and his green eyes will appear.

He just has to wait.

“The King of Fire.” A booming voice surrounds him as he walks out the hidden tunnels of Asylum 13 and into the docks.

A burst of white fire comes crashing down, but he easily diverts it to the open water.

“That’s me. Who are you?”

“Eden.”

Iblis’ smile turns into a bitter frown.

“So it’s my turn, then?” He sighs. “I just got a new body and you want me to leave? What a waste of valuable research.”

“You have a child.”

Iblis’ body becomes engulfed in flame.

“Don’t you dare touch her.”

“Eden has yet to determine the fate of your child. Your fate, however—”

Iblis sets the entire dock aflame, shooting fire into the sky, the water.

“Coward!” He calls out haughtily.

White fire comes crashing down on him again, and he diverts it, and then another, and another, a barrage of white fire comes crashing from above him and he diverts all of them.

“Fight fire with fire?” He shouts. “I thought you were better than that!”

At that point, white lighting comes crashing down in the form of a spear through his chest. He chokes, coughs blood, smirks.

“Ah. The spear of light.” He chuckles, blood dribbling down his chin. “Who else would they send?”

A figure in a white hooded cloak appears from behind him in a flash of light.

“Zadkiel.” Iblis hisses.

“Return to Gehenna. You are not needed here.”

“Is that Eden wants? What do you think to achieve should you manage to throw us all back in there? You can’t keep us locked away, angel.”

“No.” Zadkiel’s voice echoes around him. “There is trouble in Gehenna.”

“How dare you—”

Another spear pierces him, this time through his stomach. He sputters blood. One more spear, and he would be paralyzed.

“Beleth seeks your throne.” Zadkiel tells him. “You know this, and yet you continue fooling around with these mortals.”

“You wouldn’t know, Zadkiel.” Iblis concludes. “You wouldn’t know the joy of being with these creatures.”

“I would, but then I’d be cast away like you.”

Zadkiel’s words struck a vein in him. How highly these angels think of themselves!

“Secure your place in Gehenna, Iblis.” He continues, “Then you may return to these mortals.”

“Beleth could have the throne for all I care, these humans need me.”

Zadkiel frowns in disapproval.

“Return to Gehenna.”

A third bolt strikes Iblis through his head, and he screams. Zadkiel presses his palms together, a loud echoing boom erupts from his person that shakes the burnt dock and the still water. He mutters a phrase under his breath and a magical circle comprised of angelic scribe appears below Iblis. Golden chains emerge from the circle, wrapping around Iblis before the magical circle opens to reveal a crude entrance to Gehenna.

Zadkiel’s nose twitches at the scent of the hellish realm.

“Return to Gehenna.”

Iblis’ new body is not yet accustomed to his powers, and he cannot force himself to fight against the bonds that are slowly pulling him down. Struggle as he may, the chains remain tight around his body.

“Return to Gehenna.”

Zadkiel walks in front of him and holds his palms open before his head, the same magical circle appearing on his dark skin. He swings his arms above his head, golden light trailing after it, as he continues his muttering. He pushes his hands down, and Iblis feels a powerful force being pressed down on him.

“Return to Gehenna.”

Another chain appears around Iblis’ mouth and he begins being pulled down even faster. He begins feeling heavy, a tightness closes upon his throat and he struggles to breathe. He is already waist-deep into the portal. It is only then that he lowers his gaze and accepts the inevitable.

“Eden will protect your daughter.”

Iblis eyes shoot back up at Zadkiel’s hooded face and the final sight he sees before being absorbed by Gehenna is the angel’s golden eyes and assuring smile.

“This is the Will of Eden.”

The world shuts before him, and Gehenna has never looked bleaker.


	2. Childhood I

Yukimachi Senry ū is the only child of actress Yukimachi Ayako. Though Ayako was placed as a central figure in celebrity gossip for the past few months after Senryū’s birth, these stories eventually died down as the press had shifted its interest from the father of her child to her child itself. Having inherited her mother’s beauty—dark hair and bright orange eyes—the press then began to circulate among themselves whether or not Ayako’s child would inherit even her fame and popularity.

Senry ū wanted nothing more than to.

“I will become like my mama!” She says with all the determination her five-year-old self could muster. “I’m going to be a pretty actress!”

The class of young children erupt in an applause and even her teacher smiles at her beaming face. Senryū’s hair is cut below her ears and a red headband crowns her head. She has never felt prettier in her young age, and even her teacher thinks that she’s going to be even prettier as she grows up.

* * *

It's not often Ayako welcomes strangers into her home, but the man in front of her is no stranger, nor is he part of her circle of friends.

He's family now.

She narrows her eyes at the man's equally forlorn expression.  “She’s my daughter.”

The man sighs. “And she’s my only living niece.”

He is the King of Time, Samael, or better known as Mephisto Pheles. Ayako has heard nothing of him prior to her daughter's birth, and has only heard of him through a letter he sent which state dthat he was given custody of the child by Iblis himself.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t want anything to do with you demon kings.”

Samael blinks, leans a little bit closer to say with pleading eyes, “Yukimachi-san please —”

But Ayako doesn't flinch one bit a she say with full determination, “My daughter will grow up a normal, well-loved woman.”

Samael knows full well that Ayako's statement is nothing but a hopeful sentiment.

He already knows her heart is breaking when he replies calmly,  “Your daughter is not normal.”

She growls inwardly, grits her teeth, then says, “You’re planning to use her, aren’t you?" She mutters under her breath, "This is what he warned me about.”

“I’m sure Iblis meant my older brother —”  He tries to reason with her.

She exclaims with full conviction, “Stay away from her, demon.”

He admires how she doesn't falter one bit, how there is little to no fear in her eyes, and admits defeat.

“You’re going to need my help one day, Yukimachi-san." He stands to leave and says for a goodbye, Until then, I wish you the best of luck.”

Ayako just wished he would disappear for good.

* * *

One afternoon, Ayako notices Senry ū running about the apartment with several crafting supplies in her six-year-old hands. She watches as her daughter piles the crafting supplies in the table in front of her and begins drawing and cutting.

“Senry ū . ” Ayako calls out.  “ What are you writing? ”

“A love letter!” Senryu replies cheerfully. “It’s almost Valentines’ Day!”

“Really?” Ayako smiles. “Who are you writing to?”

“To you, mommy!” She says as she cuts the around the heart drawn on the bright red parchment. “Because I love you!”

Ayako draws near and kisses the top of Senry ū’ s head, patting her hair tenderly. “And I love you, but isn’t a valentine supposed to be given to someone you like?”

“I like you, mommy.” The girl replied innocently.

“Well.” Ayako plucks the unfinished heart from Senryū’s hands and examines it. “Don’t you like anyone in school?”

“I like my classmates.”

“There you go.” Ayako chuckles. “You give valentines to people that don’t usually tell ‘I-love-you’ to.”

Her daughter went wide-eyed at the moment and began thinking with all her might. At the sight of her daughter’s pursed lips and perturbed expression, Ayako asked; “What’s the matter?”

“I’m going to need more paper.” Senry ū thought aloud gingerly, and at that moment Ayako burst out laughing.

Come Valentine’s Day, Senryu received a lot more that what she gave—paper hearts and chocolate candies, garden flowers and cupid drawings. She stuffed all of them in her bag without a second thought, but not before telling to those that gave her such gifts:

“Thank you. I like you back!”

— while handing over a paper heart with the biggest of smiles she can make.

When Senry ū told Ayako about her Valentines ’ Day, Ayako was sure that her daughter was going to be loved her entire life.

* * *

Ayako is out grocery shopping when the most unexpected person appears before her, and time stops. Literally stops. The old woman behind her is suspended in time, as well as the young couple chatting with each other beside her. Even her own daughter has gone as still and as quiet as a statue.

She frowns and her grip on the shopping cart tightens.

“Yukimachi-san.” Samael greets, tipping his hat towards her in greeting.

She lowers her eyes and warns him, “Please stay away from her.”

But he strides close, eyeing the young girl critically.

“She’s growing up quite well.” He nods.

“She’s my daughter.” She hisses.

“You can’t keep her true self a secret forever." He meets her narrowed gaze and sighs. "She’s going to ask questions one day.”

“And I suppose you’ll have the answers?”

He shrugs, nods. “She is, after all, my only living niece.”

He laughs a little at that, and Ayako can't help but feel a shiver come through her body.

"I am not your enemy, Ayako-san."

Samael disappears and time continues on, but Ayako keeps still.

"What's wrong, mommy?"

She smiles at Senry ū . "Nothing. Let's go."

* * *

When Senry ū  is seven years old, she meets what she thinks are fairies, little beings with bright, flittering wings, in her room one night. Just as she was about to sleep, bright lights appeared before her closed eyes. She opened her eyes immediately, happier than ever to have fairies appear before her young, curious eyes.

“Who are you?” She asked.

The largest, brightest of the group flew to her, and she could see a tiny face much like those she's seen in the storybooks. It spoke, “I am one of your guardians, princess.”

Her eyes widened in excitement. “I’m a princess?”

“Yes!" Another fairy spoke excitedly, "Your father’s the King of Fire back in Gehenna.”

She hasn't heard of a kingdom of that name. “Really? What kind of kingdom is that?”

“Well, we can’t really say for sure, but you'll find out soon!” The fairies spoke before disappearing right before her bedroom door opened.

“Senry ū ! ” Ayako stood there, looking shocked.

“Mommy!” Senry ū greeted.

“Senry ū, what are you doing still awake? ”

She clapped. "I was talking to my fairy godmothers!"

"Fairy godmothers?" Ayako was perturbed, but maintained that it was just  Senry ū's imagination. "You've got a really vivid imagination, dear."

Senry ū just smiled brightly at her, but Ayako can't help but feel the slightest amount of trepidation.


	3. Progenitor I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had rewritten this from something that didn't really make sense. Sorry for the tardiness.

"This is your uncle."

Senryū is ten years old when she meets her uncle for the first time. He's introduced as her father's only living relative in Japan and as a headmaster of a certain academy in Tokyo.

Senryū has never been to Tokyo.

Kanazawa is small, quiet, and far away from the noise of Tokyo. Ayako had thought it a great idea to move from the insomniac city and into the refreshing province. The farther they are from the city, the farther they are from prying eyes and a certain uncle who tries too hard to be on friendly terms with them.

Too bad she had underestimated his title as the King of Time and Space.

* * *

Ayako's apartment is just enough to house two people comfortably, with a bedroom for her and another for her daughter. There is a small kitchen in one corner, fitted with a stove, an oven, a sink, and a fridge. The dining area could fit four people comfortably, with the island counter separating the area from the kitchen fitting an additional two people on stools. The living area sits across the dining area, and is furnished with a three-seater couch, two armchairs, a short coffee table, and a television set.

The decorations are simple, homely, quaint enough to embody the relaxed atmosphere of the region.

So Mephisto Pheles stands out, as he usually does, against the backdrop of maple leaves in the autumn season.

"Kanazawa is beautiful! I understand now why you'd choose to move here out of all the provinces of Japan."

Ayako doesn't drop the groceries in her arms, but she does drop the smile she had been wearing. She's not that surprised that he managed to find them, but she's surprised that it took him about a year to do so.

"What are you doing here?" She glowered at him.

He looks hurt by her words, and responds dramatically, "You had moved away so quickly, I hadn't had the chance to say goodbye!"

She blinks, but her scowl doesn't disappear.

"You're not welcome here." She said as she places the groceries on the counter.

"Can't I at least see my niece?" He asked with a charming smile.

Charming? To anyone but Ayako, it seems.

"No." She had answered quickly.

"Kanazawa is hone to a lot of Buddhist sects."

Ayako exhales through her nose, knowing full well what his intentions are, and says, "You want to set-up a branch here, then be my guest, but they are not interested in any of your exorcist business."

She sounds so sure of herself, but she had never once spoken to any monk from any sect about Senryū's… condition. She feared for her daughter's safety, after all. The sects might not be related to the True Cross Order, but it was better to keep Senryū's real identity a secret.

Which might be one of the reasons why her daughter had began her rebellious phase a little too early.

But Mephisto doesn't know that.

He shouldn't know that.

"You're putting ideas in my head, Ayako-san!" He exclaimed at her statement, thinking it an interesting suggestion, "I never thought of-"

His cheery expression was met with Ayako's furious glare, "Get out."

* * *

But Ayako's unwelcome glares and scalding remarks have not deterred the Demon King of Space and Time from appearing whenever he wanted. Which is why he appears one Saturday afternoon while Ayako was relaxing with a cup of tea and Senryū was doing her homework.

"Hello, my dear!"

Mephisto's cheery demeanor was met with the most ferocious look a ten-year-old girl could muster.

But Ayako snaps at her daughter's lack of hospitality, "Senryū!"

To which the little girl's glowering response is: "What?"

"Your uncle." Ayako nods to acknowledge him, gesturing Senryū to greet him properly.

The little girl blinks once before narrowing her eyes.

"Hello." Her response was gruff, and Mephisto could think of three different sources of her anger.

_1\. Ayako has told her about him in the worst way possible._

_2\. Senryū, as a child, is distrusting of everyone but her dear mother._

_3\. She's just shy, that's all._

Mephisto replies to her curt response with a smile that hypothetically bring a smile to any child's face.

"You're scary!"

Except Senryū.

The little girl rushes to her mother's side, a look of disgust on her face. Mephisto's eyes meet Ayako's-and it is true what they say:

_Like mother, like daughter._

He just hoped that Yukimachi Senryū would later on take after her father.

The little girl definitely inherited Ayako's dark hair and her father's orange eyes, but beneath that pretty exterior must lie something sinister, something dark.

At least, Mephisto hopes so.

* * *

After Mephisto's unceremonious arrival, Ayako was thankful he left at the instant of Senryū's immediate dislike of her uncle. What Ayako didn't expect, however, was Senryū's resentment to be directed towards her as well.

"Where's my father?"

_How formal_. Senryū must be taking after all those historical dramas she watches late at night when Ayako was sound asleep.

"Senryū, we talked about this…" Ayako tries to explain, "He's not here."

"Why?" The little girl presses.

They talked about this before; before Senryū's rebellious stage had manifested in refusing to go to bed by nine o'clock in the evening, eating too much, and being overtly rude to guests. She told Senryū that her father couldn't commit to such a relationship and left Ayako as a single mother.

Senryū didn't cry back then, but instead asked,  _"Doesn't he love you?"_

Not,  _"Doesn't he love us?"_

Ayako could have concluded from that experience that Senryū doesn't long for a father figure in her life, doesn't cry and beg for Ayako to bring their father back, doesn't feel sorry for herself when they see other families around town, but Ayako is wrong.

"What happened to him? When is he coming back?" Senryū continued to ask, with each question growing louder and more insistent than the last.

"It's what's best, Senryū." Ayako says for an excuse, "I don't think he's coming back. I'm sorry."

She reaches to embrace her daughter, but the girl pushes her away.

"You're lying!"

And Senryū's hands are hot,  _hot_ ,  _ **hot**_ , almost burning, almost as if…

"Senryū!"

Smoke emanates from Senryū's hands and a fire blazes inside her eyes. For the moment, Ayako is terrified, shocked into a stillness as her daughter rages.

"Why did he leave? Was it because of me? I want to know, I want to know!"

Senryū screams and shouts, clutches onto Ayako's skirt-

"Tell me!"

And the fabric burns and tears at her touch.

"Senryū…"

The little girl pulls away immediately to look at her steaming hands, before looking back at her mother in horror.

"What did I…? Did I do that?" She points to Ayako's ruined skirt. "What's… happening, mommy?"

Ayako had never seen Senryū so frightened before.

"Senryū, calm down." She reaches out to Senryū and scalds herself at the touch.

"Ah!"

"Mommy!" The little girl instinctively rushes to Ayako's side to seek comfort, but Ayako's automatic response was to pull away and exclaim:

"Don't touch me!"

Of course, any child who hears those words from their mother is sure to run away.

"Mommy, I don't know what's happening."

But then again, Senryū isn't like most children. She was raised by Ayako to be strong and resilient, beautiful and gracious. Ayako raised Senryū to become a girl who will later on become a well-loved woman.

_"You're going to be loved by everyone you meet. They're going to worship you like a god."_

Ayako doesn't take into account the possibility of her daughter being treated as the spawn of a demon, rather than the daughter of a celebrated actress. And Senryū had often spoken about her dream of becoming an actress just like her mother. With her bright smiles and sparkling eyes, who's to deny Senryū of her dream?

Apparently, it is the reality that she is no ordinary human being, but she is the daughter of the Demon King of Fire.

"Senryū, please just try to calm down." Ayako pleads as the terrified girl is currently in danger of setting herself, and likely the entire house, on fire.

Ayako has no other choice, so she says:

"If you calm down, I'll tell you everything you want to know about your father."

* * *

Of course, any mother would know that their terrified child would sooner cry than listen to whatever they have to say, but in Senryū's case, she falls unconscious while Ayako was in the middle of telling the young girl everything she ought to know about her birth and about who she really is. Ayako resists the urge to cradle her daughter in her arms, knowing full well that her daughter's body is burning to the touch, and perhaps the slightest contact would merit a nasty burn. It's a wonder to Ayako, however, that Senryū's dress is unmarred and unburnt.

It's Senryū's favorite sundress, after all.

In Ayako's hand, there is an old cellphone whose screen displayed a single contact with the name, "EMERGENCY." Her thumb presses lightly on the 'call' button, hesitating whether it is the right time to call such a person.

A few moments pass, and her thumb slips, or so she thinks, and a call is being made.

_Ring. Ring._

After four rings, a loud knocking on the front door is heard.

"Shit."

Ayako mutters something incorrigible before approaching the door.

When she opens it, a confident-looking Mephisto Pheles meets her displeased face.

"Why the sour face, Ayako-san? I am her guardian, after all."

* * *

The Demon King of Space and Time stood in Ayako's living room, leaning down on one knee before her unconscious daughter, a gentle look on his face as he reached to touch the girl's cheek.

Ayako wishes that his hand would burn upon contact, but it doesn't.

Her skin is still warm, a slight jolt erupts from the contact and Mephisto feels as if he had touched the searing-hot skin of his younger brother when he was feeling a particular emotion quite strongly. He turns to Ayako then, notices her burnt skirt, and offers a consoling smile.

"In retrospect, you did have another choice."

But the woman feels repulsed by his expression and responds bitterly, "Do you think I would consider that option? My daughter's already terrified of you."

Of course she wouldn't consider it. She wouldn't even consider leaving Mephisto to 'babysit' Senryū for a day to be a solution to anything.

"How rude!" He plasters a look of hurt on his face. "This form was made especially to appeal to children."

"I don't want you anywhere near her."

Mephisto could smirk at the stubbornness of this mortal woman. To think that even after ten years she still had the will to deny any of his willing assistance, that she still had the audacity to speak against him as if she had the power. Surely, the girl would take after her mother's adamantine personality and hot-blooded temper. And if combined with Iblis' strength and power…

He can't help but feel excited for this child.

"And how do you plan on stopping me?" He stood to his full height, and towered over the woman. "What you did a while ago is quite admirable, Ayako-san, though you could have done it a little bit earlier."

The mere fact that she, the woman who had detested him for ten years, called him before anyone else was a feat in itself. But he would greater appreciate it if she called him while her daughter was on fire, so he could see for himself how strong she is.

"My daughter could have set the house on fire." Ayako grounds out.

Mephisto's mischievous expression doesn't falter.

"Oh, her power hasn't reached its full potential." He explains, "Even if her demon heart is sealed away, there's no guarantee that there won't be a repeat of this."

There's the smallest hint of fear in Ayako's eyes, and Mephisto knows that a mother's sadness surely overpowers a mother's fury.

Ayako hesitates, and her voice comes down to a whisper when she asks, "She wouldn't be able to live a completely normal life, then?"

Mephisto sighs. "You should already know that answer to that, Ayako-san."

Ayako's eyes drift to the sleeping girl on the floor and she thinks to touch her daughter's face. She leans down, knees nearly touching the back of Senryū's head. One of her hands reach slowly to cradle the girl, afraid of being burnt. But when her hand skims Senryū's hair, she feels nothing but a gentle warmth. She moves to cradle her daughter, clutching Senryū's body to hers.

She carries Senryū's slumbering form and lays it down on the couch.

After, she turns to Mephisto. Her soft expression hardens before she says, "There's a reason why I allowed you inside this house."

"And I thought you were finally extending your hospitality towards me!"

"A…" She paused. "Strange man came the other day."

"Oh?" He cocked his head in curiosity.

"You exorcists aren't the only ones who are aware of demons, right?"

He nods.

Ayako sighs before continuing, "They introduced themselves as the one who will lead this world into the light."

Mephisto knows only one group who calls themselves as such, and their name is bitter to his tongue.

"The Illuminati."

If his eyes darkened to an unsightly color, if his mouth formed a jagged scowl, if time suddenly stopped and an ominous atmosphere suddenly filled the room, he wouldn't mind at all if he were in Gehenna. But he was a gentleman demon here in Assiah, he wouldn't show his darker side before this human woman whom he wants to consider him an ally. By all means, he should present himself as a polished demon, a demon unlike any other.

So he clears his throat, and straightens himself up.

"Yukimachi-san." His tone suddenly becomes formal, "What exactly did they tell you?"

Ayako doesn't utter a word, but the apprehensive look on her face says just as much.

"Ayako-san, my older brother will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Now, if you want my help, you will tell me what happened."

Ayako says nothing, but the apprehensive look on her face had flushed all the color from her cheeks.

Does he look so terrifying, after all?

"They claimed to know a cure." Ayako responded after several seconds of silence. She continues nervously, "A cure… to my daughter's… condition."

"Impossible." He states.

"It seemed worth a try." She tries to reason.

"No." He grounds out. "What did you tell them, Ayako-san?"

"They offered my daughter a second chance!"

_Oh, no._

"It was something you could never offer!"

_Oh, these humans and the temptation of a second chance._

Mephisto resists the urge to laugh at the look on Ayako's face. It was as if she was accusing him of something, as if she's figured everything out, as if she's bested him at what he does best.

Trickery is all in the mind, and to Mephisto, Ayako hasn't the slightest idea of what she might have gotten herself and her dear daughter into.

"I just hope you said no, Ayako-san." He says, a little laugh bubbling from the back of his throat, "Even if my brother won't take it for an answer."

"Why?"

"Because if you said yes, then consider your daughter dead."

If Ayako's already terrified face could become even more frightened, then it would have been so.

"No, no…" She mutters in disbelief, searching his eyes for any semblance of mockery. "My daughter… She wouldn't…"

Ayako begins to sob uncontrollably, clutching her slumbering daughter to her chest. So Ayako said no, then? Mephisto knows that a mother's fear for her child outweighs her own selfish dream for her child.

"As long as I am here, Ayako-san." He says, voice no longer foreboding, but with a comforting tone. "No harm would come to your daughter."

Ayako looks at him then, and it is not a look of anger nor of fear, but a look of pleading.

"Have faith, Ayako-san."

The woman nods, and again, and again, until her surrender is embedded into her mind, until her stubborn pride is replaced by humble desperation.

"Please." She begs.

_Perfect_ , Mephisto thinks,  _All according to plan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than I had wanted, but it's an update! Yay?


	4. Childhood II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back. Sorry. This chapter is pretty long, as in really long. To make up for lost time, I guess? Enjoy!

****"You are not a monster."

Those were Ayako's first words to the terrified ten-year-old Senryū who had just realized that she could set herself on fire.

"You are my daughter." She continued, watching warily at the girl's frightened gaze. 

She thinks to chose her next words carefully, knowing that her daughter's impatience is unlike any normal child's. Senryū impatience is dangerous on a whole other level compared to human children; her impatience merits careless destruction, fire would likely sprout out of her and burn everything in sight.

Ayako doesn't want that.

So because she has Senryū's complete attention, she decides to be as honest and as careful with her as she can. She thinks of ten different ways she could tell her daughter, but settles with a dramatic reveal she's always loved doing.

"And you are also the daughter of the Demon King of Fire."

When she expects Senryū to burst into a series of questions, the young girl faints.

So anti-climactic.

Still, Ayako can't help but think that Senryū is going to be a great actress someday.

* * *

Yes. Senryū wants to be an actress.

Three years ago, when she was seven years old, she met her so-called fairy godmothers, fairies of the kin of fire. They behaved as they were portrayed in fairytales, mischievous, winged creatures, ever-present, sometimes in hiding, with an unknown extent of their powers.

So every time Senryū would ask, “Who are you?”

They would respond, “We’re your guardians, dear princess. Your fairy godmothers who will grant your every wish.”

For a seven-year-old girl, it was what she wanted most in the world.

So one night, she tells them, “There’s a bakery on the next block. I really want to have some of those eclairs, but mommy won’t let me.”

Their neighbor, Manami, owns a bakery that had its finest pastries on display, cakes and muffins and eclairs, and everything Senryū wanted to have for dessert, but Ayako is a strict mother, and forbids Senryū to eat sweets after nine in the evening.

It was only 8:30PM at that time.

And Senryū, ever the glutton, was craving for some chocolate.

The fairies nod in unison as they reply, “It shall be done, princess.”

That night, Senryū slept peacefully, crumbs littering her sheets, fairies dancing around her bed, and wallet a little bit lighter.

The next day, there was a commotion outside of Manami’s bakeshop. Apparently, an entire tray of pastries had gone missing from his fridge.

“I’m telling you! It’s something supernatural!” Manami exclaimed, gesturing to the empty space between the cupcakes and the brownies. “I swear I had thirty-six of them last night, not thirty-two!”

“Maybe there was a rat.” One of his neighbors suggested.

“A rat?” Another one spoke, “But it was placed in his fridge!”

“Maybe...”

“Or maybe you miscounted them yesterday.” A third one spoke.

“No, I...” Manami scratched his head, trying to remember what happened yesterday.

But in reality, it was the work of Senryū’s so-called fairies. They were intelligent creatures, after all, strong and powerful, as well. They cut through the glass of a window, pulled open the kitchen door, the fridge door, and pulled three of the eclairs out of the shelf, carrying it with great care, delivering it to their dear princess whilst the others welded the glass of the window back to its frame.

Manami has noticed that one of his windows looked burnt, and supposed that the missing eclairs were stolen by a thief.

But then he notices the coins and paper bills on his counter. He hasn’t forgotten to place the money in the register, right?

* * *

To be honest, Senryū didn’t think she was stealing. She was paying money, after all. She made sure to check the prices in Manami’s bakery, save up enough money, and “buy” whichever it is she wanted only when she feels like she deserves it.

And being the seven-year-old that she is, she thinks she deserves it all the time.

Two  and a half weeks pass, and the little girl has eaten every pastry available in Manami’s store. A week before that, Manami stopped making a fuss over one or two missing pastries, and instead began praying three times a day, as opposed to his previous two times a day, believing that some mischievous, but not at all malevolent, spirit had taken a liking to his pastries.

He isn’t completely wrong, that’s for sure.

But Ayako notices something in Senryū, how her cheeks sometimes feel sticky in the morning, how ants began appearing in her room, how suddenly there are cookie crumbs and chocolate stains on her bed.

“Senryū.” Ayako confronts her daughter when she is about to do the week’s laundry. “What’s this stain?”

She shows her daughter the dark brown streak on the otherwise pristine-looking blanket. And Senryū just looks at her, acting all innocent and shy, biting her lip in an attempt to look like she’s thinking really hard and doesn’t know what it is.

But Ayako’s stern expression forces the little girl to admit the truth.

“Chocolate.”

Senryū’s head hangs low at the utterance of the word, as if she bore all the guilt in the world.

How dramatic.

“How did you–” Ayako stammered. ”Are you hiding sweets from me?”

She narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

But Senryū is becoming more and more the actress everyday, averting her eyes in an attempt to look innocent as she replies, “No, mommy.”

Ayako can’t believe her daughter thinks she’s such a great actress. If she were to fool Ayako, then she has a long way to go.

“Don’t lie to me, Senryū.”

“I’m not.” She pouts.

“If I catch you eating...” Ayako warns.

As a reply, Senryū shakes her head vigorously.

Ayako sighs, knowing that her daughter would still find a way to sneak in some sweets after dinner, but she has much to do today, so lecturing Senryū will be done after all the household chores are finished, and once Senryū has done her homework.

When Ayako leaves the room, Senryū whispers to herself, “You won’t.”

She removes the box underneath her bed and slides it in front of her. She opens the box, and out come flying her fairy godmothers, two of which are carrying the half of a chocolate muffin she had bought from the night before. The fairies place the remainder of the chocolate muffin in Senryū’s waiting hands.

And as she takes a bite...

“Senryū!”

Ayako had seen it all.

Oh. The door wasn’t completely closed.

“What–” Ayako stutters, trying to compose herself at the sight of the several glowing things around her daughter.

“What are...” Her eyes dart from the glowing entities around Senryū, to Senryū’s shocked expression, and to the muffin in Senryū’s hands.

Senryū sees this, sees her mother’s eyes dart from her to the fairies, to the muffin. She wants to hide the muffin behind her, but she knows that her mother has already seen it.

Senryū’s cheeks flush a bright shade of red, and she’s very much embarrassed by this, her voice a small squeak when she asks, “You can see them, too, mommy?”

Of course. Ever since conceiving Senryū, Ayako has been able to see demons of all shapes and sizes, of all kinds, and of all temperaments.

The only thing she would thank Mephisto Pheles for is the so-called gift he gave her before she had given birth, a small necklace that ought to keep the larger, for ferocious demons at bay.

So far, that necklace has worked for her, but now...

“Is that from Manami?” She points to the half-eaten muffin in Senryū’s hands.

“Yes.” Her daughter answered meekly.

Ayako sighs, loud and audible, and the sound itself could only mean disappointment. She doesn’t know what to do with her daughter, should she get mad, should she give a lengthy lecture, should she punish her, should she scream at her? But Ayako does none of those things, and lets rationality govern her actions.

She asks, in the calmest voice she could, “Since have you been stealing from Manami’s store?”

Senryū grimaces. She doesn’t like that word. Stealing.

She isn’t a bad person.

So she tries to defend herself, speaking up, “It wasn’t–”

“Answer me, Senryū.”

Ayako’s stern look and dangerous tone force Senryū to shut up. The little girl chews of her bottom lip, knowing full well that there is no arguing with her mother.

“Two weeks ago.” She admits.

“How could you–” Ayako is about to shout before she stops herself.

Technically speaking, Senryū might be the one who orchestrated it all, the one who ordered these entities around, and these entities look like ones who would do anything she says. Senryū is the daughter of one of the kings of Gehenna, the King of Fire himself, Iblis; the wish-granter, dream-devouring Djinn from myth.

Why couldn’t Ayako have met a lesser demon at least?

She just wanted to have a child.

A perfectly normal, healthy, beautiful child.

Senryū could be all three, but she lacks the most important one. Somehow, Senryū had come across a being, a demon, that is like her, almost, and she has managed to command it to follow as she wills it to. Ayako is aware of this world of demons and exorcists, this world of good and evil, and Senryū is...

Senryū might be an anomaly, but that wouldn’t be considering the fact that she is the daughter of the King of Fire. If they knew, if the exorcists knew...

”It’s dangerous, Senryū!” Ayako decides on taking the ‘guilt-the-suspect’ route for this situation. “What if someone else saw them? What if...”

She’s just worried about her daughter, that’s all. Never mind being the daughter of some high-ranking demon, as long as no one else knows, and as long as it is kept hidden...

“So you aren’t mad?” Senryū asked, voice meek but hopeful.

“I’m furious.” Ayako corrects her, and immediately, Senryū shrinks.

“You’ve been using those...” Ayako points out, but doesn’t have a word for whatever is floating around her daughter. Are they fairies? Sprites? Demons?

“Those creatures to steal!”

How vague, but that’s the best term Ayako can have for them.

“No, I’ve been sending money!” Senryū explains before turning to a glowing creature beside her, “Right, Stella?”

Stella? It has a name? They have a name?

Ayako is so surprised that Senryū had come up with such a name for them, but what surprises her is when the creature beside Senryū suddenly spoke, voice as graceful and as dainty as one would expect a fairy’s.

The creature turns to Ayako, then, and is followed by the rest of its kin, “The princess speaks truth.”

Ayako blinks. Twice. She breathes in deeply, this is too much to take in.

“And they talk.”

Senryū nods enthusiastically, smiling. The creatures around her erupt in a tinkering of laughter.

If she has these... Stella, then would she have other friends?

There was only one way to find out.

“How many other...” Ayako hesitated, “friends do you have, Senryū?”

* * *

Now, looking at her daughter’s unconscious form, and the fiery creatures that surround her, fully aware that the demon king opposite her is aware of them as well, Ayako hesitates.

These Stella, as her daughter calls them, appeared a few minutes after Senryū had fallen unconscious, and instantly began circling around their “princess” as if fairies dancing around a flower bed, singing a song in a language Ayako is unfamiliar with.

“She calls them Stella.” Ayako mutters, quietly observing the creatures dance. “Senryū believes that they’re fireflies.”

As if Senryū hadn’t seen a firefly before.

“They’re closer to fairies than they are to actual fireflies.” She continued.

“Yōsei.” Mephisto corrected, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Your daughter has come to have a particularly mischievous kind of demon serving her.” He placed a finger on his chin in thought. “How interesting.”

Ayako snaps, she’s had enough of his not-so-subtle ways of telling her that her daughter might use to him, and is quick to ask, “How do I get rid of it?”

“Well, you can either take a risk by calling an exorcist or you wait for her to get bored with them.”

Two options that Ayako is sure she would never take. Of course, calling an exorcist places her daughter in danger, and she is sure that Mephisto is aware of this, and simply waiting for Senryū to be bored with them is impossible. She doesn’t know how Senryū had come across such a creature, nor does she know how Senryū came to have them serve under her. To the best of her knowledge, demon familiars have contracts with their human masters, agreements that are more beneficial to the demon than they are to the master. That, or demons become familiars by subjecting them to the Will–yes, with a capital W–whatever that may be, of a human more powerful than them.

Senryū is only half-human after all.

For a moment, Ayako considers waiting for her daughter to become bored with these “fairies”, to grow up and forget about the fantastical stories of knights and princesses, to forget about tales of bravery in mystical lands and whatnot, but then Ayako remembers that Senryū has other friends, and it would take a long, long time for her to forget those tales of dragons and other fire-breathing monsters.

To her knowledge, Senryū had a bright orange salamander friend named Ginko that breathed fire, and a small flaming bird she calls Fura-chan. She wouldn’t be surprised if Senryū had other flaming, fire-breathing pets, as long as they’re smaller than her.

“She has other friends.” Ayako tells Mephisto quietly.

If she somehow made a friend with a temple deity or whatnot, she wouldn’t be surprised either.

“Other friends?” He was honestly surprised, and genuinely curious. “Tell me, does one of them breathe fire and has leathery wings?”

Ayako deadpans, “She hasn’t come across a dragon yet.”

That, or Senryū’s pet salamander is just a dragon’s wingless baby form.

* * *

Mephisto knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

Just not this soon. He was going to give Senryū thirteen years of a normal life, at least, but this opportunity has presented itself to him and it would be rude of him to refuse. The daughter his younger brother had entrusted to him was beginning to show her potential to become his trump card, his great Weapon of Assiah. He feels giddy at the thought, excited to see what power she holds.

If only he could get through her mother first.

“Ayako-san, if you would be so kind, I would like to spend some time with my dear niece.” He asked her politely.

“You already are.”

Ayako’s no-nonsense tone has always been aggravating.

“No.” He clears his throat. “I mean, some time alone.”

Her response is automatic. “No.”

He raises a brow and tries to control his temper. He’s had enough of Ayako’s stubbornness, and even though she had already asked for his help in protecting her daughter, she still shows the same distrust of him she’s had from the beginning. If only she were the same as everyone else, as compliant and as afraid a everyone else, then he wouldn’t have the slight urge to end her life and be done with it.

But, alas, he made a promise to his brother, and lest he become the target of all and every creature of fire on earth, he would try his best to keep Ayako and her daughter alive.

“Hmm?” He asks, forces a smile upon his features.

“I don’t trust you.”

Of course.

He shakes his head. “I would never bring her to any harm.”

“You have ten minutes.”

Finally!

Ayako turns her back to them and begins walking away before she hears a sudden blast of wind, only to turn around and–

Mephisto is no longer there.

But he had left a note.

_Inside your daughter’s head. Be back soon._

* * *

Of course, Mephisto wasn’t actually in Senryū’s head because how chaotic of a place that would be? Jokes aside, Mephisto was in his plane of Gehenna, along with Senryū’s consciousness.

This is his first time to be alone with his niece, his first time to speak with her face to face, and her first questions to him is this:

“Where’s mommy?”

At ten years old, Senryū’s question is only to be expected of her, seeing as she’s been pampered to the bone by her too-loving, too-caring mother. He doesn’t expect to see Senryū to be a girl with the attitude of an elementary bully or an anti-social genius, but as a girl who is more of a spoiled brat than anything.

So he adjusts his tone when he replies, “Mommy can’t come to you right now, Senryū-chan.”

She grimaces. “Don’t call me that.”

She is obviously disgusted with that term of endearment.

“What? But I’m your uncle!” He moves to come closer to her, arms outstretched in a mock embrace.

She is quick to evade him. “Gross.”

_This child!_

He quietly observes her for a while, and notices how unsurprised she looks at everything. How she isn’t panicking or crying, or even begging him to let her go, but silently looking around the room, patiently fascinated by everything. So she must be an inquisitive girl, someone who doesn’t judge thing immediately, but analyzes her situation and...

Why is she so calm?

She hasn’t been to Gehenna before, right?

“Now, Senryū-chan,” He approaches her, “your mother gave me ten minutes to explain–”

She is quick to ask. “Where am I?”

How is she so calm?

“You’re in Gehenna.” He explains, “Well, at least your consciousness is.”

“Where?”

“Gehenna. The Underworld. Hell.” He lists the names. “I’m sure they’ve taught you that in school.”

“I’m in...” 

He sighs and takes a seat at the long table, motioning for her to do the same on the opposite end. 

“Yes, now I’ll start from the beg–”

But her response is instinctual, and one that he expected she would have done way, way earlier.

“Let me out of here!”

She set herself on fire.

* * *

Senryū had always believed in the supernatural. Growing up with stories of dragons and fairy godmothers, mythical swords and cursed princesses, what child wouldn’t wonder if there are truly powers beyond the realm of the real world? She just didn’t expect, even though she had dreams to become one, to be treated like a literal princess by these creatures who had suddenly appeared in her life and introduced themselves as her fairy godmothers.

It was a dream come true, if only she understood what it meant.

_“Why are you here?” She had asked them before._

_“We are here to grant your wishes, princess.”_

_“Why? What am I?”_

_“You are the King’s daughter.”_

She doesn’t know anything about her father beyond the idea that he is a King of this mythical place called Gehenna and that he is a mighty djinn with power over fire and smoke. She wonders if all of it is true, if mythical creatures do exist, if she actually is a princess, if there is a land called Gehenna, and if her father really did love her mother and made her.

When Ayako saw the Stella, the seven-year-old Senryū didn’t know what to do, what to say. Her mother was mad, sure, but she was calm. It means that she wants to understand, that she wants to...

Wait, her mother can see them?

“If you can see the Stella, mommy, does it mean that you can see the others, too?” She asked with a smile.

“The others?” Ayako blinked. Sure, she did ask if Senryū had other friends, but she supposed that they were imaginary, as kids her age would have.

“Yes! But they’re afraid of humans. I’ll introduce them to you!” Senryū was giddy, excited, and called out, “Ginko! Fura-chan!”

It would have been nice if they were imaginary, but they aren’t.

They were real.

Senryū introduces a bright orange salamander that had crawled from under her bed as Ginko, and a bright vermillion bird that came in from her opened window as Fura-chan.

Ayako didn’t know how to react. She rubbed her hands over her eyes to determine if she was only seeing things, but the bird chirped and the salamander approached her feet, as if a dog, to sniff.

A salamander. Sniffing her feet. Like a dog.

The bird, Fura-chan, perched on one of the bedposts, was preening itself so nonchalantly.

Ayako was trained to maintain grace under pressure, but she wanted to faint at that moment.

“How many others are there, Senryū?” She stammered.

“A lot more!” 

_Oh, no._

“Kanazawa is full of them!” Senryū responded gleefully.

Ayako knows that, knows that there are creatures lurking around Kanazawa that aren’t normal, aren’t human, but as long as she and Senryū wore those charms given by Mephisto a long time ago, no harm would come to them.

So, at the very least, Senryū’s friends aren’t harmful.

“How did you...”

“I met Ginko in school one day, he was hiding behind the bookshelf.” Senryū narrated. “And I saw Fura-chan when I was playing with Minako-chan the other day, her wing was broken, but when I showed her to Minako-chan, she said she couldn’t see her!”

Ayako wished that she couldn’t see them, too.

* * *

In retrospect, this was not the first time Ayako had called Mephisto using that old cellphone. She honestly wondered why she needed to call him, seeing as he would appear on her doorstep whenever he pleases, 

But three years have passed since the day Senryū had introduced her pets to Ayako, and she hasn’t shown any interest in letting them go. Senryū is ten years old, now, and her pets have grown up with her. Ginko now sprawls over Senryū’s shoulder, his tail swinging back and forth. Fura-chan has grown to a small falcon’s size. And the Stella are now capable of holding conversation with her, and even treating her the same way as they treat their dear princess.

Ayako hasn’t asked Senryū if she has other pets, and Senryū doesn’t tell her, but she knows that, secretly, Senryū is slowing amassing a horde of flaming, fire-breathing demons.

In fact, Senryū was talking to a tree at the park the other day, and the tree was talking back! As if they’ve been talking with each other for a long time! And then there was the ghost in the movie theater, and then the talking fish in that seafood restaurant, and the zashiki-warashi in the bakery...

And don’t get Ayako started on what Senryū sees and interacts with when they visit temples and cemeteries.

But thankfully, they haven’t encountered malevolent demons yet.

Still, Ayako thinks this is too much, thinks that Mephisto is just watching them from somewhere, quietly pleased with himself as Ayako descends into madness as her daughter’s charm and charisma when it comes to these creatures.

Sure, she wants her daughter to be loved by everyone, she just didn’t expect for these creatures to be included as well.

So she calls him. For the first time.

And when he picks up, she starts speaking first to spare her from his arrogance, “This is getting out of hand.”

“Well, hello, Ayako-san,” He replies smugly, “am I finally being invited to see my niece?”

“On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Senryū’s made friends. If you get rid of them, you can talk to her.”

Ayako knows it’s cruel, but if her daughter has any chance at a normal life, she has to stop being so friendly to those things.

“Today?” Mephisto suggests before hanging up.

* * *

“This is your uncle.”

Of course, when Mephisto arrives, he doesn’t expect to be eyed top to bottom by this ten-year-old girl, doesn’t expect her to frown, to glare.

Like mother, like daughter as they say.

“He’s a headmaster of a prestigious school in Tokyo, and he’s your father’s only living relative.” Ayako introduced him. “Johann Faust.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Senryū-chan!” He goes for an embrace...

“Ew.”

But is shot down so quickly.

“You’re... going to take my friends away, aren’t you?” She asked quietly.

Ayako’s eyes widened.

“The Stella told me.”

_Of fucking course._

“No, Senryū...”

“No! Of course not!” Mephisto interrupted Ayako. “I’m actually here to teach you.”

Oh, no.

“Your mother told me all about your fantastic friends, but you don’t know what they’re actually called, nor what they would actually do.”

By the end of the day, Senryū learns that the Stella are Yōsei, that Ginko is a Salamander, that Fura-chan is a Furaribi, learns about their abilities, and learns that all of them are members of the Kin of Fire, and...

Mephisto is kicked out before he could say anything else.

“I think that’s enough for the day, don’t you think, Senryū?” Ayako suggested.

* * *

So when Ayako had called Mephisto for the second time to help her, she didn’t expect him to go inside her daughter’s brain.

“Your time is up, demon.” She says to the room.

Silence.

“Hey.” She pokes Senryū’s forehead.

Nothing.

“Bring my daughter back!” She shakes her daughter’s body in an attempt jolt her awake and kick him out.

She gasps at the chuckle erupting behind her.

“I would warn you, Ayako-san.” Mephisto appears in a blast of wind. “What your daughter will say might surprise you.”

“What did you do to her?” She hissed.

“I brought her to Gehenna.” He replies plainly.

She is quick to stand on her feet and glare at him, her hands balling into fists, “You–!”

“No, I didn’t bring her to her father or to any of my siblings.” He says, before muttering, “Who knows what will happen if I do...”

Her tone is dangerous. “What did you do?”

“I tried my best to calm her down, dodge a few fireballs, and–”

She grabs him by the collar, all fear absent from the seething fury in her eyes. Ayako had been that stubborn human that is his least favorite kind.

“What did you do?” She grits her teeth.

“Something you should have done at the beginning.” He pulls himself away easily. Despite Ayako’s anger, she is nothing but human. “I told her the truth and everything that concerns her identity.”

“And I would believe you?”

“Just listen to what she’ll say.” He says assuringly, “She’s going to wake any moment now.”

Ayako turns back to her daughter, and, as if on cue, Senryū’s eyes open.

“Senryū!” She is quick to embrace her. “Senryū?”

“Mommy, I...” Her daughter begins.

“What is it, Senryū?”

“I want to become an exorcist.”

_What the actual..._

“What?”

* * *

When Senryū woke up, she was hungry and that allowed Ayako the opportunity to speak with Mephisto outside while he daughter gobbled cookies and milk.

“You did something to her.” Ayako accused him immediately. “Brought her to god knows where and messed with her head!”

He denies to quickly. “I did nothing of the sort.”

“You can’t prove it.”

Ayako is an impossible human to deal with. One moment, she’s crying for help, and the next she’s accusing him of hypnotizing her daughter. Well, it isn’t past him, but...

“By my word as the headmaster of the True Cross Academy, I did not mess with my niece’s head.” He spoke clearly.

Her eyes narrowed at him. “You told me you would help me.”

“I am! Believe me, Ayako-san. This is the best course of action for her.”

“How is it?” She exclaimed. “She’s a half-demon, and she’s going to exorcise demons?”

She doesn’t understand the logic of that.

“I don’t think you understand the nature of my work. We exorcists use demons to fight demons. And because your daughter has shown that she already has quite a number of familiars, she would become a great exorcist in no time.”

Ayako huffed. “You really think you can convince me?”

“No,” He says it so easily, as if he’s planned this, “but that’s what your daughter wants.”

“Because you somehow managed to convince her.” Ayako still doesn’t believe him.

“Do you really think your daughter can have a normal life, Ayako-san?”

She replies smugly, “I can try.”

He laughs at her determination. “I think you’ve tried enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Really, this half-demon daughter of yours become an actress like you? She’d run away from all the ghosts haunting the film studios first. Isn’t that why you moved out of Tokyo? Because you started seeing all those unsightly ghouls hanging around?”

True.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Even you wouldn’t have a normal life, but I can help you.” He sets his plan in motion. “You want me to help you.”

“But not by taking away my daughter!”

“She’s doing this out of her own initiative, out of her own love for you, her mother!”

Ah, that was an argument he has always loved using against particularly stubborn people.

“Get out.”

But despite its truth, it doesn’t work on Ayako.

He catches himself stuttering at her command, “You don’t really–”

“Get out.” She repeats a second time.

How could she think that she is powerful enough to stop him?

No matter, his plan has already been set in motion, and everything is going accordingly.

* * *

When Ayako returned, Senryū was already waiting for her.

“Uncle left.” Senryū said sadly.

_Sadly? How..._

Ayako kneeled to speak to her daughter levelly, “Senryū, what did he tell you?”

“He told me that my friends are called familiars and that I could become a really great tamer. I didn’t know what he meant at first, but he said that I could help get rid of bad spirits using them.”

How could she explain it so calmly?

“And?”

“He asked me if I wanted to go to Tokyo with him.”

Ayako sighed. It was... She could have prevented this, but...

“And what did you tell him?” She prodded.

“I told him that I’d tell you first.”

_Of course._

“What if I don’t allow you to go to Tokyo?” Ayako suggested.

And for a moment, Senryū hesitated. “Oh.”

At that point, Ayako stood up and began cleaning the table, surprised that Senryū had finished the entire box of cookies and the entire tetra pack of milk in one sitting.

“He told me you wanted to become an exorcist.” She says suddenly, breaking the silence between them.

“Yeah!” Senryū exclaimed, beaming, “And get rid of bad spirits.”

Ayako smiled nervously. “But you wanted to be an actress, right?”

The girl blinked. “Can’t I do both?”

_Well, she can..._

“What else did he tell you?”

Senryū took a seat at the dining table as Ayako began washing the dishes. 

“He told me I was a princess, and that daddy is the King of Fire.”

“Iblis.” Ayako muttered.

“Yeah. That’s his name.” Senryū heard her. “He said that you made a deal with him to have me.”

She stops.

“Senryū.”

Yet her daughter continued. “You don’t want to get married, but you wanted to have a daughter. So...”

_Curse him!_

“I’m...” Ayako couldn’t form the words to tell her.

“Daddy... doesn’t love us.” Senryū explains. “Because daddy doesn’t exist. He’s...”

_Stop, stop, stop!_

_How could he tell her daughter that?_

_How could he!_

“Senryū.” Ayako’s grip on the plate tightens.

“He’s a demon.” She can’t face her daughter right now, but she hears her snffling her tears. She’s crying, yet she still continues, “And you made a deal with him...”

“Please, stop.” Ayako pleaded weakly.

“I’m like this because...” Senryū’s tears were flowing freely now.

Ayako wants to embrace her and tells her to stop crying, but she couldn’t bring herself to move, to see her daughter’s crying face.

“I’m sorry, Senryū.” She apologizes.  “It’s my fault.” 

She should have known better than to do what she did, and yet...

“No.” She could hear Senryū sniffle her tears. “It’s okay, mommy.” She hears Senryū step down from the seat and approach her from behind, “I’m going to make it up to you.”

“What?”

She turns to Senryū then, and sees her daughter's tear-stricken, yet determined expression.

“I’m going to be an exorcist.” She says, “And I’m going to make daddy pay for what he did to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Thoughts? Feedback is much appreciated, guys. Thanks for reading.


	5. Progenitor II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to be in the airport soon and I just had to post this. Wow. I’m actually planning to write a full-blown story for AnE that starts during the Kyoto/Impure King Arc, but I’m still thinking if I should finish this first. Anyway, enjoy!

****Tokyo is terrifying.

That was the first thought the ten-year-old Senryuu had when she stepped out of the train. But even before she stepped out of the train, she had already noticed the black blobs floating in the air. When she asked her mother about them, she would simply answer:

“Don’t mind them, Senryuu. We’ve seen those in Kanazawa, right?”

Yes, but not in that number. Another reason why Ayako had chosen to move to Kanazawa was because of the clean air, both in the literal and the supernatural sense. The number of temples in the province that held regular purifying ceremonies prove to be of help in reducing demonic activity.

But Tokyo...

Tokyo is different.

Tokyo is loud, colorful, crowded, and tight-knit. 

The perfect breeding ground for demon kind.

“They’re...” Senryuu notices several of them fly over her head.

“They’re called Coal Tar, Senryuu-chan.” Mephisto explains, watching the small demons fly past her, “They’re mostly harmless creatures, except when they band together.”

“You should keep wearing that necklace as long as you’re here.” He continued. “Tokyo is home to demons you’ve never seen before.”

The demons in Kanazawa have a calmer, more reserved manner, but the demons in Tokyo range from the silent and fearful to the outright ferocious. Mephisto wonders what would happen if he were to put Senryuu in a situation where...

“Enough.” Ayako says, noticing how his expression shifts from mischievous to downright scheming, “Where is this academy?”

Ayako had no reason to bring her daughter to Tokyo other than to see if Senryuu would still want to become an exorcist.

* * *

In the weeks preceding such a decision, Mephisto had come to her with a proposal.

“Let’s bring her to Tokyo.”

Senryuu had told her mother days before that she wanted to become an exorcist and make Iblis pay for what they did to her. Ayako didn’t understand what her daughter meant at that time, and decided to ask Mephisto:

“Why does she want to become an exorcist?”

It doesn’t make sense. How could her daughter’s views suddenly take a turn for the worst? Of all actions to do to make someone pay for their wrongdoings, how could an exorcist be the most viable option? Was it because her father was a demon–and not just any demon, but the King of Fire himself? Was it because Mephisto spun myths and legends about the exorcist career path? Or was it simply because Senryuu thought it sounded amazing?

“It was her decision.” He shrugged. “You know how children are these days.”

She replies bluntly, “She’s only ten years old.”

There’s a smug look on his face as he says, “And does that excuse her from wanting to see her father?”

Yes. To Ayako, it does. “What did you tell her?”

“I just told her that if she wants to see her father, becoming an exorcist is the easiest way to do it.” He says smoothly, “That, or to go to Gehenna.”

_Gehenna?_

She hissed, “You wouldn’t–”

“I didn’t expect her to say that she wants to make him pay.” He explained. “I honestly thought that she wanted to say hello.”

His casual, easygoing tone just makes it all the worse.

“She’s ten years old.” She repeated, clearly feeling frustrated and angry.

He chuckled. “Her rebellious phase started early.”

Ayako’s hardened stare makes him sigh in disappointment.

“I know how against you are of such a career choice.” He says, as if empathetic to her plight.

“You want her to do it.” She blurts out.

“What?”

“You want her to become an exorcist.” She continues, as if finally figuring out the missing piece, “You want to take her under your wing and...”

Before she could continue, Mephisto cuts her off, his dangerous expression just daring her to complete the sentence, “And what?”

But she is unfazed by this, ten years and she’s at least gotten enough courage to stand her ground.

“What are you planning to do with her?”

Her narrowed gaze has always amused him, how she can think that he’s deterred by such a small act of intimidation.

“I just want her to accept who she is.” He said with a smirk.

“By making her a demon-killing machine?”

Now that made him laugh.

“No. I did not say that.”

“It was clearly implied.” She ground out.

He could go all eternity just arguing with this woman, but she’s frustrating to talk to. Always repeating the same arguments as if she could get him to agree with her just by constantly repeating how she thinks he’s wrong and she’s right. It’s so typical of a human being to think that way, at least according to him.

“Yukimachi-san.” He begins.

At the end of the day, Yukimachi Ayako is the same as any other human being.

“No.” She shakes her head desperately. “I won’t let you–”

“You do know I can easily take your daughter away from you.” He stated calmly.

And Ayako knows that his being calm is only a signal for something far more terrifying. It’s like the calm before the storm, if the storm is a threatening presence that’s enough to choke the life out of you.

“The only thing stopping me is, well, I suppose you know this already, his love for you.”

Mephisto’s voice dripped poison–a bitter and sour tone that made Ayako shiver in fear.

_His love?_

_Does he mean–_

But before she could wallow in that terror, his expression changed dramatically, quickly returning to becoming friendly, “So I have a proposal for you.”

He pauses for dramatic effect.

“Let’s bring her to Tokyo.”

And he said it as if it was the best idea in the world.

He continues, thoroughly excited about it, “Let her see for herself what really goes on the exorcist business.”

Mephisto smiles because he knows that Ayako won’t refuse.

She’s too terrified to.

* * *

Which is what brought Ayako and her daughter to Tokyo, standing in front of the gates to the True Cross Academy, or rather, island. Ayako had heard of this prestigious academy, but didn’t expect it to be the crowning glory of a man-made island off the coast of Tokyo.

“You’ll see the academy soon, Senryuu-chan.” Mephisto said lovingly to the girl beside him.

To which the girl’s reply is a rude cock of her head, and haughty, “Don’t call me that.”

“So your rebellious phase had come early...” He muttered.

Ayako sighed, agreeing with him for once, “You have no idea.”

Senryuu, despite having her rebellious phase come to her at the age of ten, still had the excitement of a typical child her age. She still gets excited the same way children her age do, and gets easily distracted by something that catches her eye.

That’s why when she looks up at the towering True Cross Academy with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“It’s huge!” She exclaims.

“Why, yes.” Mephisto boasts, “Equipped with the best facilities for only the best of the best. It’s a school for the elite, after all.”

Ayako thinks it’s just too extravagant to be a school.

“And how much would it cost?”

“Since Senryuu is part of the family,” Mephisto chuckles smugly. “Absolutely nothing!”

“You’re kidding.” Ayako deadpans.

But Senryuu’s excited face is a win for him.

Which is why he exclaims proudly, “Anything for my darling niece!”

And Senryuu’s face falls almost automatically.

“Gross.” She grimaces.

“I’ll give you a general tour of the place, let me just...”

And in a cloud of smoke, Mephisto transforms into his dog form, a white Scottish terrier, to avoid suspicion and to make this tour easier.

But he didn’t know that it was also to make Senryuu warm up to him a little bit more.

“That’s so cool!”

* * *

This was supposed to be a tour. Just a simple, very safe, has-nothing-to-do-with-supernatural-entities kind of tour.

“Keep your distance, please.”

According to Ayako, at least. Show Senryuu how this school doesn’t fit her, how Tokyo is filled with scary monsters. But it seems that isn’t just going to happen.

“Please take this alternate route.”

A road had been closed off, and several men and women in black trench-coats were standing around what seems to be a road accident.

But, of course, it wasn’t just a road accident and those weren’t the police. They were exorcists, and the road accident was a collision between two supernatural beings, one who was possessing a car, and a bird-like creature who was perched on top of the truck the car had crashed into.

“What’s that, mommy?” Senryuu pointed at the scene.

“It’s a road accident. Just...”

Ayako stops herself.

Senryuu frowns before whispering, “You can see them, too, can you?”

“Yes, Senryuu.” Her lips form a fine line. “Let’s hurry before...”

“Ah!” Mephisto appeared beside them, “This is a fine example of what an exorcist does, Senryuu-chan!”

_Oh, no._

“Look closely.” He tells her.

Ayako could just strangle him right now!

“There are three exorcists surrounding the two demons, keeping them at bay as the rest of the team lead people away.” He explains. “If we wait a little bit longer, they’ll exorcise the demons with either a sword or–”

“It’s hurting.” Senryuu states plainly.

“What?”

“The red one.” She points to the bird. “It’s hurting.”

Ayako pulls her away before she could say anything more, her eyes signaling Mephisto to continue with the tour.

* * *

“Finally!” Mephisto exclaims.

He’s reverted to his human form, stretching his arms out in relief. This is the first time he and Senryuu are alone together. Ayako had to go to the restroom, and he was thankful for Senryuu’s rebel phase coming early because she had refused to come with her.

Now they’re sitting side-by-side, waiting for Ayako to come back.

“Now we have some time alone, Senryuu-chan.” He says sweetly.

“Get away from me.”

Of course, it might take Senryuu a few more years to warm up to him completely, but that doesn’t matter now.

“I just want to ask you something.” He whined.

She has narrowed eyes that are too much like Ayako’s, but she’s easier to get along with because she replies with a quick, “Okay.”

“Has anyone strange visited you?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Anyone claiming to help you?”

She hums in thought. “Not really.”

“Does the phrase “enlightened ones” sound familiar?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Then you’re safe, for now.”

She turns to him, face full of disbelief, “What does that mean?”

“There are people in this world that want to use you. Bad people.”

She nods minutely.

“But I won’t let them.” He says assuringly with a confident smile.

“Ew.”

Of course, her response to such a thing coming from him is disgust.

“Don’t be like that!” He cried. “I’m sincere!”

To think a ten-year-old would act that way...

“And I’m hungry.” She hopped down from the bench. “Let’s go back to that burger place.”

* * *

Little did they know, that the burger place Senryuu mentioned housed a demon, a large, but harmless demon. It was a large, dismembered head of an old woman, located on the top corner of the restaurant. But despite that, the place was still filled with customers.

Ayako wondered if the name Third-Eye Burgers was a warning.

But Senryuu, excited and hungry child that she is, went inside the restaurant, lined up, and waited before she ever saw the large head in the corner.

The large head whose eyes had been staring at her the whole time.

So, of course, in typical, ten-year-old girl fashion, she screams.

Loudly.

And runs.

And despite Mephisto explaining that it was a harmless demon that found peace in the smell of grilled burgers and ketchup, Ayako refuses to listen.

“No!” She shoved past him.

“Yukimachi-san, listen–”

“That thing looked at her!” She yelled, “How can I be sure that she’ll be safe here?”

“I assure you.” He tries to calm he down. “The Okubi is harmless.”

“I don’t care! This place is dangerous. I can’t leave my daughter here!”

“Then why not come with her?”

“We already have a life in Kanazawa, I can’t...”

He’s had enough of this argument.

“You, Yukimachi-san.” He states. “You have a life in Kanazawa; quiet, provincial Kanazawa. But your daughter doesn’t.”

Ayako stops because she knows it’s true.

“I swear,” She glared at him, “you messed with her head.”

“No.” He shakes his head slowly. “You just need to listen to your daughter and finally realize that this is what she wants.”

And his face is calm. Calmer than she has ever seen, and for some reason, it makes it all the more terrifying.

* * *

Because Third-Eye Burgers was a no-go, they opted to have lunch somewhere else. A fast-food eatery across the street going by the name of True Cross Burgers. 

Ayako scowled.

_Really?_

But they were hungry, and there wasn’t any strange creature hovering or whatnot.

_Good._

But Ayako didn’t check the bathroom, and Senryuu had gone to the bathroom alone.

“Help! Someone, please!” She screamed.

There was an Akaname, a small, childlike creature with a bright red face, a dark blue body with clawed hands and feet, and long tongue. It was usually harmless to humans, but this one was particularly dangerous, having lived so long.

“Filth...” It muttered, its claws scratching against the tile walls. Its saliva dripping from its open mouth.

This was a terrifying as it could get for Senryuu.

“Get away from me!” She backed away.

“Filth... Creature...” It continued its way towards her. “You make dirt, filth... Disgusting.”

It was getting closer now.

“Stella!” Senryuu pleaded. “Ginko! Fura-chan! Help me!”

Fura, the small, flaming bird, appeared in a burst of bright fire above her. Ginko, the salamander, quick to crawl out of a crack in the wall and come to her defense, its tongue flickering with fire. The Stella, the firefly-like fairies, flew out of the opened vent. Senryuu was too scared to open her eyes, even pressing her palms over them in fear, but she could feel the warm fire emitted by those creatures. She heard the crackle of fire and the pained hiss. And when she opened her eyes, she saw her uncle looking at her in shock.

“Oh, Senryuu-chan.”

* * *

Above the restaurant, three cloaked beings were on the rooftop. One of them had his palms pressed against the cement of the roof, while the other two stood beside him.

“The child shows an aptitude in the summoning arts.” The one on the floor said.

“Three familiars and she hasn’t even awakened her flames.” The other one said, clapping her hands in awe.

“It’s quite an achievement.” The tallest of the three spoke. “Come. Before Samael takes notice.”

The other two nodded.

They pressed their palms together and whispered an ancient phrase before a golden circle appeared below them and teleported them away.

* * *

Having heard of this incident in the bathroom from her daughter, Ayako was quickly angered by this.

She pointed an accusing finger at Mephisto. “You put her in danger!”

“No, it’s not Uncle’s fault!” Senryuu defended.

“No, Senryuu.” Ayako couldn’t believe her daughter was taking his side. “Why don’t you understand? This is all part of his plan to...”

“To what, Yukimachi-san?” Mephisto has had enough of this. “From what I understand, this is just to help your dear daughter.”

“She isn’t going to become an exorcist!”

“The same argument as always, Yukimachi-san?” He sighed. “Why don’t we let your daughter decide her fate?”

“She could have been seriously hurt or worse!” She screamed at him.

“But my friends helped me!”

“They aren’t your friends, Senryuu!” Ayako raised her voice at her, “They’re demons!”

“And?” Senryuu dared to ask.

Mephisto raised a brow at this.

_How interesting._

“And...” She stumbled on her words. She didn’t know what to say.

“Why don’t you understand, mommy?” It’s Senryuu’s turn to ask her, her voice pleading and her expression guilty, “I’m a demon too, aren’t I? Does that make me bad?”

Ayako doesn’t know what to answer.

Mephisto thinks that he’s finally won.

“I’m going to be an exorcist, and I’m going to be the best one!” Senryuu said resolutely, something akin to a fiery blaze in her eyes.

Mephisto is sure that he’s won.

He asks curiously, “What happened to making your dear father pay?”

“That too!” She nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, Yukimachi-san,” He says, face smug, “the academy is always ready to accept new students.”

Ayako is utterly defeated.

* * *

Mephisto doesn’t believe in the saying that “for every good thing that happened, there’s an equally bad thing that will happen” until the most unexpected visit later that day.

It comes in a flurry of feathers, a flash of bright light, and the scent of something utterly holy and divine.

How he hates that smell.

“Well.” He doesn’t turn to the visitor in his office. “I didn’t expect a visit from you.”

“The child is going to be taken under your wing?”

And it’s that booming voice. That voice he’s heard so long ago, yet somehow still grates his ears. It’s the voice of the angel, Tzadkiel.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” He turns to the dark-skinned, golden-eyed visitor and gives him a sickly sweet smile. “Of course. Who else will be in-charge of her training?”

Tzadkiel. The First Champion of the Heralds of Zion. The Archangel of mercy. The chief of the Dominions. One of the Archangel Michael’s second-in-commands. Of all Champions to send to him, Zion sends him the most infuriating one.

“She has shown quite an aptitude for the summoning arts.” Tzadkiel stated.

Mephisto narrowed his eyes at the angel. “So you have been watching her.”

“The balance must be preserved, Samael.”

_There he goes with his booming voice again._

“Oh, I think the balance is just right, Tzadkiel.” He persuades. “After all, my brother hasn’t done anything worth mentioning.”

“And yet his men have approached her mother.” The angel spoke without batting at eye.

Tzadkiel had always been blunt.

“You’ve been watching them very closely, have you?” Mephisto drawled out, quick to keep his temper in check.

“It is only in the Will of Shamayim.”

Mephiso scoffs then. There they go with the so-called Fate of the World.

“Might I have a few words with your Reader, then?” He asks jonkingly, “I’d like to know what that entails.”

His smile is met with the angel’s disapproving frown.

“Behave, Samael.”

His smile is quick to drip into a scowl.

_Behave?_

He dislikes–no, hates, loathes it when someone tells him that.

But he doesn’t let his anger be shown, and instead gives Tzadkiel a bright, poisonous smile.

“Since when have I not?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so for the next chapters, Pandora now will be called Zion (short for The Heralds of Zion because Pandora doesn’t really make sense since they aren’t hunters or anything and wow that new name sound badass, right?), Eden will be called Shamayim (for consistency, as it is the equivalent of Heaven in the Hebrew context), Zadkiel will be using his more common (I guess?) name, Tzadkiel. 
> 
> Revisions will be up within January next year (along with the new chapter, I hope). 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you! Happy holidays!


	6. Niece I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's bad at keeping promises? Sorry. Part of me wants to skip all of this to the point where Senryuu's life is in actual danger, where Senryuu is actually in love, and where Senryuu kicks Mephisto's ass at being savange, but... part of me still wants to explore this idea of me writing children.
> 
> Revisions will be up as soon as I finish them. Sorry, turns out that revising is harder than writing.
> 
> Thanks! I hope you guys are in for the long haul as much as I am!

At least, that's what he thinks.

Yukimachi Senryuu is no exception to this.

He had offered an open palm to the child, a welcoming gesture, a sign of trust, an invitation. But she walks past him and up the steps of his grand manor.

"This is where you live?" She turns to him with a look that bellied both awe and impatience. "Is this where I'm going to live too?"

If children would usually act shy or excited at the thought of living in a manor as grand as this, Senryuu acted as if she doesn't want to be there.

Well... She's his  _niece_.

She's the daughter of a very disagreeable woman.

"Yes, Senryuu." He drops the honorific he usually tails with her name, "Why, is there something wrong?"

"No." The girl shakes her head. "It just looks like a doll's house."

_And is there anything wrong with that!?_

"Oh, but it is!" He replies, suddenly all cheery, "It has everything you could have ever dreamed of! It is a paradise!"

Senryuu makes a sound of disgust at his pronouncement.

"I bet it doesn't have an indoor swimming pool." She huffed.

Mephisto smirks. It's so typical of a child to want an indoor pool. But no matter, it's just a snap of his fingers.

He is, after all, the King of Time and Space.

_Snap._

The sound coming from his fingers resounds around them. Senryuu turns her head to him, looking both terrified and surprised. Though he has caught this bratty niece of his off-guard, he maintains a façade of indifference.

The doors before her swing open to behold...

"An indoor pool!?"

This is first time Mephisto hears Senryuu shriek.

And she reacts just as he expected, rushing into the hall and stopping just short of the pool's edge. He watches her as she reaches a hand out to touch the water, wondering if it would be mean of him to push the little brat into the pool.

But this is  _his_  space, after all.

So when little Senryuu reaches out to touch the water, being the curious child that she is, her hand meets cold, tile floor instead.

She stumbles back, shocked and quite scared, and hears Mephisto speak from behind her.

"What you did was quite rude, Senryuu-chan." He smiles, terrifyingly sweet.

"I knew it!" She accused him with all the strength a child could muster. "It was all a trick!"

_A trick?_

He stares down at her scowling face, eyes promising anger and mayhem.

_How amusing._

He smirks. "My, didn't your mother tell you it's rude to come in without an invitation?"

"This is where I'm going to live, too." She huffs. "And you told me–"

He snaps his fingers again, and the sound echoes in the grand hall.

The pool appears below her.

And she falls.

A grand splash comes after her and Mephisto steps back to keep himself dry.

"Oh, my." He spoke to himself. He didn't consider if she knew how to swim.

But before he moves his hand, she surfaces, sputtering out water from her mouth before standing upright.

Oh, the pool wasn't even that deep, anyway. The water reaches just past her shoulders.

"You sick–!" She screams out, angry and temperamental, pushing her hair away from her face with little regard to how neat it was combed before, "You–!"

_How interesting._

She's steaming now. Literally. The water around her is slowly turning into steam, which is enveloping the area around her. But she seems oblivious to it, and continues glaring at him, breathing heavily with the promise for murder and mayhem.

She's wearing her third favorite dress, the dress her mother told her to take good care of, and he...

"I hate you!" She screams with all the anger in the world.

And the water around her comes to a boil.

_How very interesting!_

"Oh, Senryuu-chan." Mephisto calls her amusedly. He moves his hand in a sweeping gesture and the pool disappears, leaving a dripping and furiously seething Senryuu on the floor.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you some manners?"

She mutters something incomprehensible.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She says, standing up and pushing the rest of her hair away from her face.

She's looking quite the pitiful sight.

"I'm sorry." She says under her breath.

So at least she knows how to apologize.

"Senryuu-chan." He steps towards her and she visibly scowls. "Your mother has entrusted me to take care of you."

"No, she didn't."

So she still has the gall to talk back to him? He could clamp his hand over this girl's mouth right now.

"Well, she doesn't know anyone else in Tokyo, does she?"

"No. Mommy has a lot of friends here."

_That's it._

"You know, I can grant you absolutely anything you ask for. Be it indoor pools, revolving closets racks, even unicorns!"

She turns to him sharply then, an insult ready on her tongue, but she remains silent.

_Good._

She's witnessed what he can do, after all, and any child would know to keep quiet.

He continues, "But on one condition."

She lowers her haughty gaze.

"Just be a good, obedient little girl, okay?" He drags the last syllable.

"Okay." She replies meekly.

Mephisto feels triumphant at that and smiles widely.

He steps away from her. "In time, you'll learn how to have better control over your flames, and your temper."

He can't have this little girl going on a rampage this early now, can he? Plus, he has a lot of plans involving his one and only niece.

But first, get her dry and a little bit more warmed up to him.

"Shall we?" He holds his hand out to her.

She doesn't take his hand, but instead steps beside him.

He sighs.

_Well, it's progress._

* * *

"Oh, don't worry, Yukimachi-san. Your daughter is fine."

And even through the phone, he can already imagine her seething with anger and distrust. She's just a worried mother, that's all, and a little too worried for her own good. Just five minutes after leaving Senryuu with him for the weekend, she already sent him death threats and vows to make him pay should he even think of–

_As if a human woman like her could even_ _**touch** _ _him._

"Yes, yes, I'm very much aware of how you still do not trust me after all these years."

He isn't amused by this conversation, anymore. In fact, he's very much  _bored_.

"It's like nothing has changed, right, Yukimachi-san?"

He laughs.

"Yes, I know. Have a pleasant day!"

The phone disappears in a puff of smoke.

"Was that mommy?" His niece's voice comes from behind him.

"What are you wearing?" were the first words that came out his mouth the moment he turned to look at her.

She looks so different from the well-groomed, princess-y little brat. Her hair is a mess and the shirt-and-jeans combo she's wearing looks ratty and old. But at least she's dry?

"You're just like mommy." She shrugs.

_Like mommy, eh?_

"Why? Doesn't mommy let you…" He trails off on purpose.

"No." She huffed.

_Ah, the first crack in the armor!_

"Well," he smiles widely, "you should know that you're free to wear and do as you please here!"

She blinks. "Really?"

"Of course!"

She narrowed her eyes, and already she is looking so much like her mother.

"I don't believe you."

He claps his hands together and leans down, tone sickly sweet, "Anything for my one and only niece!"

"You're kidding."

The sudden look of disgust on her face mirrors how he feels inside.

_But if this is what it takes to get on her good side, then so be it._

He tried his usual trick of persuasion with her mother, and it didn't work. Ten years into their relationship, she's still as cold and as wary of him as the first day they met. But Senryuu is a different story. She's not just a mere human, she's half-demon, and–if he were to use archaic terms–a princess of Gehenna.

A single mother like Ayako could never truly provide for her. She could never fully educate her daughter on the ways of the world they live in. Senryuu would never be able to reach her full potential with that human woman.

So, in Mephisto's mind, it's only right that  _he_  be the one to do it. His younger brother is the fiery, hot-tempered King of Fire, and his daughter is no different.

Well, at least not yet.

She might be as fiery as her mother, but this is nothing close to what she could become.

"That's not what you said earlier."

_Oh, she's a perceptive one._

"Then would you care to repeat it?"

She looks down, grits her teeth.

"I have to be good." She muttered.

She's so dejected right now, but he knows the best way into a child's gullible, little heart. And with a wave of his hand, they're transported to the main dining hall, a high-ceilinged, candy-colored room with a long table filled with everything a child could want to eat.

"Lunch, Senryuu-chan."

Maybe she's too astonished by the sight of chocolate fountains and ice cream castles to notice his term of endearment.

"What?" She turns to him sharply. "Is this what you eat?"

"I doubt your mother allowed you to eat chocolate before you cleaned your plate."

She nods mutely, still slack-jawed over the sight of all things sweet.

"Well, there's no one to stop you now." He conjures up a spoon and hands it to her.

She takes it from him tentatively, looks at the dreamy sight before her. But instead of digging the spoon into the cake in front of her, she clutches the spoon tightly to her chest.

"What's the matter?" He feigns concern.

"Thank you," she says under her breath, "uncle."

_Uncle?_

He grins.

It's a win-win situation, he gets on Senryuu's good side, he gets on Ayako's. And once that's done, he's free to set his plan to motion without any interference from any overly protective mothers.

_At least that would be one problem taken care of._

He could always deal with those angels later.

* * *

But sometimes, no matter how carefully and how meticulously he plans, there are just some external variables that makes him reconsider everything.

External variables, meaning these literally-holier-than-thou prophets of the Heralds of Zion.

At least they didn't send the angel Tzadkiel.

Instead, they sent him the prophetess Thea, a descendant from a line of soothsayers from Greece. Red-haired and brown-eyed, she stalks into the room, eyes blindfolded to mimic the prophet Tiresias, a hood over her head, and a lantern–of all things–in her hand.

She's looking quite like those who had played Tiresias in those Greek plays so long ago.

"What a surprise to see you, prophet." He mumbles.

She hisses, turns towards him like a snake, whispers something under her breath.

_It sounds like a curse._

The fire in her lantern flickers.

Her mouth opens, but no words come out.

Mephisto feels a certain energy in the room, and suddenly a blast of wind comes bursting through the doors. It is a gale, a strong and powerful force that scatters everything in the room, sending them into a whirlwind around the both of them.

Of all rooms, she chose to appear  _here_?!

Her mouth closes and the winds stop, sending everything crashing back down. Papers scatter, vases break, ink spills.

His very expensive Idol Mariko signed poster is torn.

_How dare she–_

But before he could send her out through the window–because he can so easily do something like that, right?–she speaks with the voice of a loud and booming crowd.

"Poison of God, Defiler of Man, King of Many Names,"

It is the voice of the Oracle.

_It's been so long._

"You who bends space and traverses through time, befallen kind, dirtied hand, think us prophets so lowly."

The fire flickers brightly.

"You who casts illusions and threads lies, I come as messenger of divine will, as prophet of things to come, as destiny inescapable."

He wishes she would get to the point already.

"You think to have caught a phoenix, but instead it is a moth on fire."

_Oh, how poetic._

"You think it is Amaterasu of the dawn, Sekhmet of the sun, Agni of the flames. You think is it the phoenix of death and rebirth, of ashes and flames…"

And she turns to him, so quick and so hauntingly that he could  _feel_  her heavy gaze through the blindfold.

"But it is Kagustuchi who burned its mother. It is Moloch demanding sacrifice. It is Ifrit dressed in flames, destroyer, devourer."

_Is that so?_

"Tread carefully on the path you have made, Samael, for paved brick and solid wood burn easily at the instance of its fury."

The fire in the lantern flares up.

"It is Icarus falling from the sun, a fiery blaze burning ambition to dust. It is a moth flying through the field, setting fire to all around it. A phoenix wakes not in its ashes. There is nothing, there is nothing."

And then she falls silent.

"Well, I thank you for–"

"You will do your best to ensure it does not happen," the prophetess spoke in her own voice, though cracked and quiet, "else we will have to interfere."

Oh, he does  _not_  like that.

"Really?"

He  _hates_  that.

"I thought we had an agreement."

They're not one to go back on their word, are they?

"Then you should best remember that the safety of these creatures had always come first."

_Of course. Angels. They're soft for these humans. These weak,_ _**inferior** _ _creatures._

"Very well." He hides his irritation under a very agreeable tone, "I shall do my best."

A summoning circle, very bright and very angelic, appears beneath Thea, and he thinks it the best time to ask:

"What do you mean by interfere?"

But she disappears without answering.

_How rude._

But he isn't one to take the Oracle's words lightly. If anything, it's a warning of things to come, a signal for him to set his plans into motion quicker, to make sure that there are absolutely no holes in it.

Although, this wasn't the first time the Heralds of Zion had sent one of their own to act as a messenger of divine will. In fact, this could be considered redundant, as they have spoken to him years and years before about the birth of a harbinger.

_"_ _A child shall come to forge a crown. It is the fire-breather, destroyer of time, devourer of all things. It shall come to claim its own. It shall come to be crowned."_

Well, if anything, Ayako had spoilt Senryuu a little too much.

_"_ _It will burn. It will seek worship. It will seek adoration. It is a hungry child, and it will seek to be like a god."_

Yes, he's already so aware of that.

_"_ _But it will burn, it will burn and it will burn, its flames ascending to the sky."_

But that last statement, he doesn't understand.

_Does that mean…_

"Would it hurt them to speak in layman's terms?" He muttered to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically nothing happened? Don't worry. I've got big plans for the next chapter. It involves more demons and (finally!) more people.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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